Take that, SERN!
You can stop rubbing your lucky metal Upas and chugging sacrificial Dr. Peppers, folks! It’s happening! PQube has announced that Steins;Gate 0, the sequel to one of the better visual novels available in English, will be getting a localized release sometime this year on PS Vita and PS4. The game will be available in North America and Europe.
A post on the blog of import retailer Rice Digital confirmed the announcement and in a fit of convenient timing opened up pre-orders for the game as well. Similarly, UK-based gamers can visit the Rice Digital booth at the ongoing MCM London Comic Con and score some Steins;Gate 0 posters.
As for the game itself, it appears that 0 expands on one of the original Steins;Gate‘s alternate endings (or world lines, if you will), with protagonist Rintarou “Kyouma Hououin” Okabe and his pals in the Future Gadget Laboratory dealing with AI and the creation of something called “Amadeus”. Okabe will interact with his friends and some new faces using a knockoff of popular Japanese messaging service LINE, and the story’s gimmick appears to involve exploring the stored memories of other people.
Given that Steins;Gate wrapped up fairly nicely, I wasn’t initially convinced that a sequel was necessary, but word on the Japanese-reading street is that Steins;Gate 0 acquits itself rather well, with some folks even declaring it better than the original. That’s got me intrigued. If you need more convincing, perhaps the game’s intro will help? Check it out below.
